New hope for X-Ray Britons

The families of the British terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba are today hoping for their swift return - without trial - after positive signals from the US.

America's ambassador-at-large for war crimes, Pierre Prosper, said the suspects, held since the war in Afghanistan, could be sent back as long as they were "managed" in this country.

Officials later said that could mean a constant watch by the police or security services. Another possibility is that they could be electronic tagged.

The move reveals a major shift by the Bush administration, which had earlier insisted that the suspects must be held indefinitely or brought to trial.

A return would remove a serious point of friction between the British and US governments. Tony Blair said earlier this week that he hoped the issue would be resolved "shortly" without going into detail.

It is, however, not the first time that hopes have been raised, only to evaporate.

The softer US stance, signalled by Mr Prosper in a briefing to reporters, appears to cover seven of the nine Britons among more than 600 suspects held at Camp X-Ray.

Mr Prosper said that there were three broad risk categories: those seen as the most serious threat, who must be held until prosecuted, medium threat individuals, and those now judged to pose a low threat or none at all.

Two Britons, Moazzam Begg and Feroz Abassi, were, according to the ambassador, in the top-risk group, with the other seven in the middle grade.

Mr Prosper appeared to offer some hope when he stressed that the categories were "fluid".

But he stressed: "I can tell you for sure that one or more of the British detainees pose a significant threat."

Louise Christian, the solicitor acting for the families of three of the detainees, welcomed Mr Prosper's comments but questionedthe need to maintain a permanent watch.

"It is absurd to say these people would pose a terrorist risk," she said. "They have been locked up for two years and would probably be too terrified to leave their homes."

Azmat Begg, the father of Moazzim Begg, said he was shocked that after two years he still did not know "what is going to happen to my son or any of the hundreds of people being held out there".

In a letter today, Amnesty International calls on Mr Blair to end the "legal black hole" of the detainees.